Marsanne

This is a blend of 40% Marsanne, 30% Ugni blanc, 25% Clairette, and 5% Bourboulenc from Southeast France.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  A very nice nose of peaches with slight tangerine and a hint of minerality.  Light to Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, the peaches come thru with a bit more minerality.  Long finish.  This is a nice, slightly light white but still has some stuffing and seriousness.  Very nice on its own, this will work well with lighter foods or most seafood.  Drink over the next few years but it will probably go longer.  

This is the final vintage of this wine.  It is an 80/20 blend of Marsanne and Roussanne.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has apples, baked apple pastry, and some pears.  Medium bodied.  Smooth and  more on the elegant style.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, flavors of apples with some minerality.  Someone mentioned a bit of reduction but it didn't stand out for me.  Good finish.  This is drinking well now and should for another five to ten years.  Better with food, it is still nice on its own.  This would be nice with Sushi but also with Cold Chicken on a picnic.  

This is a blend of 33% Marsanne, 33% Roussanne, and 33% Grenache blanc from the Rhone Valley.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has vanila, lemons and peaches.  Full bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, lemons and peach.  Easy drinking.  Nice finish.  This is a nice value in white wines and should continue to drink well for another three to five years.  It is nice on its own and will work well with many foods including Pork, Poultry and Seafood.  This would be a nice pairing with Roasted (or fried) Turkey.  

This is a blend of 60% Roussanne and 40 % MarsanneLight golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is tight.  With air it shows beeswax, lemons, pastry  dough and slight peaches.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, vanilla, lemons and  and slight minerality.  Good finish.  This is still on the young side but opens well with air.  Drink over the next five to ten years.  It is nice on its own but better with food.  Creamy garlic pork chops would be a nice match.

This is 100% Marsanne from the northern Rhone Valley in France.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great.  Earthy (think freshly tilled garden) with wax, slight quince, and almonds.  Full bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, waxy with great minerality and slight bitter almond note on the finish.  Delicious.  This is nice on its own but even better with food.  It went well with vegetarian Spring Rolls.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

These wines can be hard to judge as to when they are open for business.  This bottle was drinking beautifully.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with peach, wax, buttered popcorn and lemon.  Also a nice touch of minerality.  Full bodied.  Oily texture.  Good balance.  On the palate, dried peach, apples with underlying minerals and slight char.  Long finish.  This is complex and deep.  Probably not at peak but showing a nice maturity.  Drink over the next twenty years.  This would work well with Veal Chops.  

Just a great showing for this wine.  It can be difficult to know when to open a white Hermitage with age on it.  The wines are mysterious, shutting down and opening up on their own schedule.  This bottle seemed old at first but kept getting "younger" as it opened.  Golden in color (darker than expected), clear and bright.  The nose is interesting with pears, slight orange peel, hints of wax and maybe a bit of a floral tone.  Full bodied.  On the palate, at first this seemed a bit oxidized but not shot.  With air, those flavors disappeared to be followed by pears, slight citrus and char.  Go

A white wine from one of the top producers of Hermitage, Paul Jaboulet.  A 60/40 blend of Marsanne and Rousanne.  It seems to  be a bit "lighter" in style but that works very well.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great.  It has a fresh air quality along with slight pineapple, a bit of wax, and some apricot.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, red apples and slight citrus.  Long finish.  This is tasty on its own and will work well with sea food or fowl.   Drink over the next ten years.